Cifuentes backs QPR to find their scoring touch and explains importance of on-field relationships

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes has backed his forward players to start finding the net more regularly to help his side stave off relegation.

The R’s are second bottom of the Championship and only Sheffield Wednesday have scored fewer than their 11 goals this season.

Strikers Lyndon Dykes (pictured above), Sinclair Armstrong and Charlie Kelman have notched just two between them, and Ilias Chair’s strike at Rotherham is the only time QPR have scored in Cifuentes’ first two games as head coach.

“In the last two games we have only scored one goal, but we could have scored more,” said Cifuentes.

“We did a lot of good things in the build-up, but we missed a little bit in the last third to make sure that we can create more goal chances.

“I don’t want to judge if it [the lack of goals] is self-confidence or not, but what I know is that we have enough quality and players that can score goals. Lyndon can score goals, Armstrong can score goals, Charlie can score goals.”

The Spaniard was also keen to stress that the responsibility to score goals did not just lie on the shoulders of his forwards.

Left-back Kenneth Paal is the west Londoners’ top-scorer this term having found the net three times, and Cifuentes suggested that his approach centres on the team coming together to win games rather than relying on individuals.

“We have a lot of players like Chris [Willock], like Ilias [Chair] and [Andre] Dozzell who can score goals over a season,” he explained. “My job is to put them in the right game scenarios where they can show their quality and score goals.

“We have spoken with the guys in training about how we can produce a bit more and that will continue to be one of our targets.

“For me, the way you defend is very connected to the way you attack. In my eyes it is about building a relationship between all of the players. I cannot see how you should just interact with the striker and not the left full-back or the midfielder. We need to build relationships all around the pitch, when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball.

“Sometimes relationships emerge. For instance, we have seen so far that Ilias and Ken [Kenneth Paal] are two players that like to play close to each other. They connect very well, and they can produce certain things.